"on a shoestring"

I am so happy when I heard the news from friends that Sonny Boy “Bayugyug” Aporbo was proclaimed champion during the 6th Penang International Skimboarding Competion that happened last September 15-16 in Penang, Malaysia.

TRAINING BACK HOME

Just 2 weeks ago I was with Bayugyug and the rest of the Amihan Boys in Dahican Beach, Mati City. I was fortunate enough to see how they prepared and trained for this competition. Rising early morning to run or practice skimboarding and even carrying stones under the sea to strengthen the lungs. I was with them eating fish and squids, and sometimes chicken or just plain noodles. These things flashed back into my mind when a friend told me that Bayugyug won the championship.

Traveling with Bayugyug is a close friend, Winston Plaza who also won in the stand-up paddle board race. He came in 2nd when an Australian beaten him during the Finals.

You can check the Results and Highlights on My Life Onboard‘s account.

I wrote this to share what they have gone through before finally setting foot to Malaysia.

DENIED OF GOING OUTSIDE OF THE COUNTRY

The afternoon of September 13, Winston Plaza and Sonny Boy “Bayugyug” Aporbo arrived at Clark International Airport from Davao City. Complete with documents and invitation letters from the organizers; passport valid and all pertinent papers needed for their departure. They also have a return ticket to assure the Bureau of Immigration that they are coming back.

But something went wrong, someone from the Bureau of Immigration didn’t granted them exit because he was looking for a letter from the Mayor that allows these two to compete abroad (Do they really need this?). The two, not knowing what to do (it was their first time to go abroad), was forced to contact the Mayor of Mati City. Time passed and they missed their flights to Kuala Lumpur that day (insert *^#@5%&^ smiley here ____). They should be at Penang a day before the competition so Bayugyug can practice and feel the ocean for the competition. To made it worse, the immigration official even said to use their skimboards and start paddling to Malaysia from the Philippines (WHATDA?!!!!).

I was asking them if they remember the name or the face of the officer. Fortunately for the officer, they weren’t able to get his name, but they told me that he looks like turtle, fat and bald. I wonder who that officer was and I hope that someone from the BI can look into this, I believe they have CCTV camera in the airport.

Imagine if these skimmers just went back to Davao Oriental after this traumatic event.

SOME PINOYS HELPED

So Winston and Bayugyug stayed at the airport, hungry and trying to save every money they have for Malaysia. Some Filipinos helped by giving them food and Energen. Thanks to thess angels.

The next day, the letter from the Mayor came and they bought new tickets for KL (Sucks right?). And they finally arrived at KL. Because of the delay, they missed the last bus trip to Penang so they stayed a day in KL, resorting to going there on the day of the competition itself. Stressed and tired they arrived minutes before Bayugyug’s 1st heat.

As Bayugyug is properly trained by Kuya Jun Plaza, he managed to get through all of these odds and won the under 20 category, bringing home lots of freebies from Quicksilver and a 700RM cash prize.

Winston told me that when its Bayugyug’s heat already the other 3 will not compete anymore as there is no competition. He ripped the waves and won over Malaysians, Thais, Singaporeans, Chinese, Filipinos and many more.

 

Winston on the other hand, won 2nd place during the Stand-up Paddle Boarding Competition. He was beaten by an Australian.

They also told me that because they don’t have enough budget for the competition, they just go to where they can ask for food. They even slept at the hotel lobby or outside their friend’s hotel room while in Penang.

When they went back to the Philippines they were rejoicing and happy in spite of the challenges along the way. Thankful to God for the win.

IN THE NEWS

You can watch the feature that GMA 7 News did yesterday:

SPECIAL NOTE

As of this writing, I learned that Bayugyug is being courted to live in Malaysia and continue training for steeper competitions in the US, Australia and China. Some big personalities from other countries want to sponsor Bayugyug for everything but he will compete for their country. Hmmmm…

 

MY THOUGHTS

On Philippine Skimboarding. We have been winning the Skimboarding competitions in Penang for the past years. Isn’t time for us to do an International Skimboarding Competition right here in our own country? This is another boost for tourism right?

On Bayugyug. I guess its high time for private individuals to support Pinoy talents such as this. The judges present during the competition told Winston that it was as if a PRO Skimmer from the Philippines visited Malaysia.

In my book, Bayugyug is a PRO, problem is support is still lacking both from the government or private sector. I wish this will be read by right-minded individuals wanting to help Philippine Skimboarding.

 

 

Note: All skimboarding photos are grabbed from My Life on Board Facebook Page.

You can also watch the Youtube video here.

I’m beginning to go back into running (yes I said this before). The past 6 months I was lazy wearing my running shoes and I was contended with some 2-3 kilometers of run around UPLB campus. But I started to run again while I was in Davao Oriental, beach runs at Mati City.

Last week I was able to run again in a new destination- Rizal Beach, Gubat, Sorsogon.

First run. I ran to check the surf spot called “Breeding” (because this was former sea turtle’s breeding ground) which is about 1 kilometer from where I am staying. When I arrived at the “Breeding” a calf came near me as if trying to observe what I was doing. I came near it and tried to touch it but he was too wild for that. Unfortunately, the waves are small so there is no surfing that day.  Back and forth it was a good 2 kilometers of warm-up run.

Second run. I ran again to check the spot and there were small knee-high waves. I ran back to my place and get my surfboard. The ran-walk warm-up was perfect to start up my day. I surfed for an hour until the waves began to be flat. I then ate my breakfast and drank some coffee. I don’t have anything to do so I checked on the waves again. The waves came back, a little bigger than the previous waves. After surfing, I ran atleast a kilometer again to cool me down. The feeling was great, just amazing view and peace of mind was easily achieved.

 

Now I’m STOKED in running and surfing too!

 

RUNNING STATISTICS:

Date of Run: September 17 and 18, 2012 (Monday and Tuesday)

Route: Rizal Beach, Gubat, Sorsogon

Pro’s: Fine sand, fresh air, amazing view and solo run.

Con’s: None whatsoever.

Distance covered: 5 Kilometers

Time: 33 minutes (6:36/km)

Temperature: 29°C

Running Apparel: O’neil Super Freak Boardshorts, Zem Gear Barefoot Shoes, Smith Optics Square Shades and H&M boxer brief.

I will share a review of my latest foot wear on my travel blog- www.journeyingjames.com

If you want to read more of my out-of-town runs, you can check out my RUNNING PLACES Page. It’s a collection of my rave runs from Luzon, Visayas & Mindanao.

The 1st leg of the Philippine Kayak Explore 2012 which was held in Cavite was a success. It was the first time I joined a kayak race. Now its time to practice paddling again because 2nd leg is happening soon.

Are you interested? Please read the Press Release below:

Kayaking has gone a long way since it was introduced in the country in 1993 as a water sport
in resorts. Its growing popularity with other adventure sports such as running, biking and
trekking may be attributed to the Philippines’ natural setting as the second biggest archipelago
on the planet with its 7,100 islands and long coastline.

As the country’s longest running kayaking series, Kayak Explore ZAMBALES Multi-Sports Festival on November 9-11 provides new twists as it combines kayaking marathons with swimming, running, biking and other activities such as learning how to paddle and ecotouring activities in open sea, river and lake venues. Kayak Explore events bring out the multi-dimensional features of the sport and touches both the physical regimen of sports enthusiasts and lives of local residents in coastal communities . The Hundred Islands experience in 1997 started moves of local governments around the country to consider kayaking to provide means of sustainable alternative livelihood.

In the municipalities of Candelaria, Masinloc and Botolan, trained volunteers as kayak guides and entrepreneurs will lead mangrove planting and ecotouring from Uacon Lake to nearby Potipot Island during the Kayak Explore ZAMBALES Multi- Sports Festival 2012 while multi-
sports activities include a 32K Uacon Cove-Masinloc Kayak Marathon, 18K Tri-Plus- One relay (open water swim, kayak, bike, run) and the 60K bike-run duathlon.

Beginners and would-be enthusiasts learn paddling basics in a kayaking clinic and see action in a 3K Uacon Lake Novice Race.

For those who would like to train, kayaking basic and advanced training courses are available at Ternate Beach Resort in Ternate, Cavite under kayaking pioneers Val and Didi Camara, who have made kayaking an affordable and relevant water sport to local communities. Up north, Uacon Lake will be a kayak training camp after this event on November 9-11.

For more details, check out www.kayakphilippines.com or Philippine Kayaking Series facebook.